Supreme Sword Exalt

The forbidden zone was massive. Aside from the Central Continent, the edges of the other four domains all bordered the forbidden zone, and the Western Desert was no exception. To this day, the people of the five domains only had a superficial understanding of the forbidden zone. The unknown was what made it most terrifying.

Just as they entered the forbidden zone, a large gathering of strange mist surrounded Gu Han, drawing vital qi through his wounds. He had just consumed a saint herb, after all.

To maintain the endless pursuit, Gu Han had been circulating his cultivation at full power, and his wounds had burst open repeatedly along the way. With that nearly inexhaustible vital qi nourishing him, many of his wounds had already healed, and he still retained a considerable amount of vital qi.

A layer of sword qi barrier descended, isolating the mist. No sooner had he dispersed the strange mist, several demonic projections emerged from within the mist, lunging and biting at him. They were misshapen, translucent, and ferocious.

Before Gu Han could act, Chongming’s divine light flashed. Like snow meeting the scorching sun, those demonic projections melted into nothingness. A trace of weariness flashed in Chongming’s eyes as he stumbled, nearly falling.

“Master Rooster, are you alright?”

Chongming gritted his beak, unbothered. “We must catch and kill him! Let’s avenge Little Yun!”

Shaking his head, Gu Han suppressed the unrelenting agony of his tearing divine soul, his gaze fixed on the strange mist. He had to kill Yun Tu, even if it meant pursuing him to the ends of the earth!

***

The strange mist and demonic projections did not distinguish friend from foe. Gu Han and Chongming encountered them, and so did Yun Tu. At first, those demonic projections were extremely weak, and he dispersed them with a casual wave. However, the deeper he ventured, the thicker the strange mist grew. The demonic projections also became stronger, able to hold out against him for a few breaths.

Hesitation then crept into his heart. Though he did not know the full extent of the forbidden zone, he knew that the deeper he went, the more dangerous it would become. Those demonic projections were just the beginning. Just as he was wavering and slowing down, he sensed Chongming and Gu Han’s auras once more.

He cursed inwardly, Persistent bitches!

He also found it somewhat strange that in the forbidden zone, Gu Han and Chongming were actually faster than him despite their severe injuries.

***

Chongming’s divine light seemed to be the natural counter to the demonic projections. As they advanced, they encountered far fewer demonic projections than Yun Tu. Besides, whenever they did appear, the divine light would make quick work of them. They considerably closed the distance with Yun Tu in no time.

Chongming stood on Gu Han’s shoulder, still gazing intently ahead. Whenever a demonic projection appeared, he would unleash a divine beam. After the projection dissipated, he would land back on Gu Han’s shoulder to conserve his strength.

In contrast, nourished by the saint herb, Gu Han’s physical injuries had largely recovered. However, the intermittent, sharp pains in his divine soul made him tremble slightly. The invisible sword qi swirling around him flowed faster and faster, his speed far surpassing his earlier pace.

After an unknown amount of time, Chongming warned, “Be careful!”

Born with extraordinary perception, he was far more sensitive to certain sinister presences than Gu Han. They had reached the extreme depths of the forbidden zone. What they encountered were not just demonic projections. Gu Han had even vaguely discerned the presence of people within the strange mist. However, he could sense almost no trace of life from these figures, as if they were merely moving corpses.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed faintly from afar, as if something terrifying had occurred.

Gu Han clenched his fists, his voice dripping with boundless killing intent. “Yun Tu.”

His invisible sword qi surged even faster, and his form flickered, vanishing from sight.

***

The scream indeed came from Yun Tu. He had charged headlong toward three moving corpses that possessed neither cultivation nor life force. Their faces were expressionless, their vacant gazes exuding endless eeriness.

Yun Tu’s scalp tingled, but he dared not act rashly, fearing an unpredictable change. He turned, intending to change direction and flee elsewhere when a sudden change occurred.

With some squishes, their heads split open to the sides. Their flesh was a pallid gray, as if they had been dead for countless years, yet it still wriggled unnaturally.

In the blink of an eye, three fist-sized flowers sprouted from their severed necks, shaped like human faces! Moreover, they were identical to the faces of the three figures! As the flowers swayed, the faces contorted, smiling at Yun Tu. But the smiles were rigid and stiff, unlike those of the living!

Yun Tu knew the forbidden zone was dangerous, but he had no idea such bizarre entities existed within. What the hell are these things?!

He struck out with his palm, blasting the three bizarre flower-people.

Just as he was about to continue his escape, a strange fragrance wafted over. After inhaling just a trace, he felt his movements stiffen for an instant, and a prickling sensation spread over his skin. Looking down, his heart nearly leaped from his chest. Unbeknownst to him, his arm had turned a sickly green, on which a sprout had emerged.

To make matters worse, the sprout was sapping his divine power and cultivation. In mere moments, it had grown in size several times over. His mind reeled with terror. Divine power surged, shattering the sprout in an instant. He did not stop, flying forward as fast as he could.

After a while, his vision opened up. The thick, almost suffocating strange mist vanished, and he found himself in a small valley. Calling it small was almost an understatement. As far as he could see, it was barely a li in circumference, easily visible from end to end.

The strange mist churned incessantly outside the valley, while floral fragrance wafted inside. Countless extraordinarily vivid flowers covered the mountains and plains as far as the eye could see, blooming in every color imaginable. Such a scenic valley would be a rarity even in the outside world. But here, there was no beauty, only boundless eeriness. Every single one of those flowers bore a human face.

As if sensing the arrival of an outsider, the human-faced flowers all stirred as one. In unison, their bizarre faces turned toward Yun Tu, smiling silently. The smiles were stiff as if carved from the same mold.

A fragrance, many times more potent than before, wafted through the air. At the same time, thick, arm-sized green vines burst from the ground. Weaving into a massive net over ten zhang wide, they lunged toward him. Few vines even wrapped around his calves, their green thorns piercing directly into his flesh. He felt numbness, itchiness, and pain. The agony seemed to even reach his very soul.

With a scream, the remaining divine power within him surged out, snapping the vines. Ignoring the strange sensations in his legs, he dodged the pursuing net and retreated back into the strange mist.

A grimace of pain crossed his face, and his heart pounded with lingering fear. That was close! I narrowly escaped...

Just as this thought crossed his mind, two furious roars, laden with killing intent, reached him!

“Yun Tu!! I’ll slaughter you!!”

“I will kill you!”

Before the echoes faded, a red sword aura tens of zhang long and a great seal formed from five-colored divine light slammed into him.

Yun Tu’s face contorted in horror. “Don’t—”

Though they were not enough to kill him, they could easily send him back into the very hell he had just escaped. With a thunderous crash, he was sent flying backward, caught perfectly by the pursuing vine net.

Despair washed over Yun Tu. It’s over!

At the same time, Gu Han and Chongming also arrived at the valley. The countless human-faced flowers covering the mountains and plains turned their eerie smiles towards the man and the rooster. That smile could send chills down one’s spine.

However, among the myriad human-faced flowers, one flower seemed to retain a sliver of rationality. Upon seeing Gu Han, a flicker of confusion and struggle crossed its bizarre face, seemingly recognizing him.